Top 5 Ways to Prevent Dry Lips

If you wear lipstick, lip liner or lip gloss, there are some things you should avoid when selecting cosmetics. That is, you should avoid them if don't want your dry, cracked lips to draw eyes away from the rest of your face.

The main ingredient you want to watch out for is alcohol. Matte and long-lasting lipsticks usually contain types of alcohol, which tends to strip natural moisture away from your lips as it evaporates. Since alcohol is such an essential ingredient in lipstick, some manufacturers have begun to use alcohol derived from plants that act as emollients, like lanolin.

Other lipsticks and glosses are designed to double as lip balms and contain many of the same ingredients as a traditional lip balm, like beeswax or aloe. If you can find a lipstick that also contains a SPF of 15 or more, you're all set.